2_Dallas Cowboys2

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West Conference. Although Lawrence wasn’t considered a
big-time recruit coming out of high school, he finished his
career with 34 tackles behind the line, including a conference
record 20.5 in 2012. He may not reach his stated total this year,
but one has to imagine Lawrence will be a good piece of the
puzzle before long.
Cowboys Special Teams
This is a definite area of strength for the Cowboys and should
be good for a win or two this year. Kicker Dan Bailey made 28-
of-30 kicks last year, including 16-of-17 from 40 and beyond and
6-of-7 from 50 and longer. That’s about as good as it gets.
Chris Jones isn’t a dominant punter, but his 45.0-yard average
is robust and certainly enough to help the Cowboys get a field
position advantage. The team has a real return strength in
receiver Dwayne Harris, who averaged 12.8 yards on his punt
returns and 30.6 bringing back kicks. Those are big numbers.
Dallas also has a strong coverage crew that didn’t allow a
score last year.
Prediction
The Cowboys have some talent on offense; you can’t deny
that. The question is whether that awful D can stand up. The
feeling here is that while it will improve a bit, it won’t be
good enough to put Dallas atop the division, even if the NFC
East is one of the weakest around. Another close call is in
order, but no title.
SCOREBOARD
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
PLAYOFF FINISH - - - - DIV
WON-LOSS 8-8 8-8 8-8 6-10 11-5
POINTS/GAME 27.4 23.5 23.1 24.6 22.6
OPP POINTS/GAME 27.0 25.0 21.7 27.2 15.6
YARDS/GAME 341.0 374.6 375.5 364.3 399.4
YARDS/ALLOWED 415.3 355.4 343.2 351.8 315.9
TURNOVERS 20 29 21 30 19
TAKEAWAYS 28 16 25 30 21
Key Additions:
DT Henry Melton, DE Jeremy Mincey, LB Rolando McClain, QB Caleb
Hanie, QB Brandon Weeden, DT Terrell McClain
Key Subtractions:
DE DeMarcus Ware, DT Jason Hatcher, QB Kyle Orton
Rookies:
OT Zach Martin, DE Marcus Lawrence, LB Anthony Hitchens, WR
Devin Street, DE Ben Gardner, LB Will Smith, SS Ahmad Dixon, DT Ken
Bishop, CB Terrance Mitchell
Dez Bryant
LEON HALIP/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
opponents completed 64.7 percent of their passes and averaged
4.7 per carry. It was an awful performance, and it went a long
way to explaining how Dallas couldn’t prevail in one of the NFL’s
weakest divisions.
The bad news is that the Cowboys aren’t likely to be that
much better this year, despite Rod Marinelli’s taking over as
the team’s fifth coordinator in six seasons. The loss of middle
linebacker Sean Lee to a torn ACL during mini-camp was
a crushing blow and took away the team’s second-leading
tackler and top interceptor from 2013. The Cowboys were
already susceptible up the middle, but this makes them even
more vulnerable.
Folks in north Texas weren’t too happy to see DeMarcus
Ware released, either. He only had six sacks in 13 games last
year, but that was second on the team. He’s been a standout, and
replacing his production won’t be easy. Gone, too, is tackle Jason
Hatcher, who led the team with 11 sacks last year. Things remain
a little unsettled up front, with newcomers Jeremy Mincey
and Henry Melton in the starting four, at least until Anthony
Spencer returns from injury at the end spot. Nick Hayden is solid
at one tackle, and rookie Demarcus Lawrence will be asked to
provide pass-rushing push from the other end position.
Lee’s job could belong to Justin Durant, who made just 24
tackles in 10 games last year, although Iowa rookie Anthony
Hitchens could be there before too long. Bruce Carter is
productive at the weakside linebacker position, while DeVonte
Holloman and Kyle Wilber will fight it out on the strong side.
The defensive backfield needs some help, despite a pretty
good year from free safety Barry Church, who led the team with
107 tackles last year. Brandon Carr had three picks from the
cornerback position last season, but other projected secondary
starters Morris Claiborne and J.J. Wilcox combined for one.
Defensive Player to Watch
Rookie Demarcus Lawrence made some headlines when he
announced that his goal this season was double-digit sacks from
his end position. That may be a bit of a stretch, since not even
DeMarcus Ware could put that kind of production together
last year. But give Lawrence points for confidence, and that’s
important to have.
The 6-3, 251-pounder picked up 20 sacks during his two
seasons with Boise State, good for sixth all-time in the Mountain